1.  Pay yourself.  10% of income is recommended to be put away in a savings account and later invested after thorough research has been done to find out the viability of the investment options.  It is advised that this amount be set aside BEFORE other expenses are paid for.  Starting a savings plan with any amount is better than none at all.

2.  Emergency Fund.  Putting away money worth 3 to 6 months of the monthly gross salary into an emergency fund is recommended for any savings plan.  This will take care of unexpected emergencies such as large medical expenses or the loss of income due to unemployment and help maintain the current financial position.

3.  Creating a budget.  Creating a budget and sticking to the budget helps keep in line with priorities and helps avoid shopping surprises. 

4.  Discipline. The key to making the budget work is discipline.  Developing a specific routine of how to spend money with specific guidelines based on the budget can help maintain the discipline needed.

5.  Making sacrifices.  Eliminating or reducing some expenses may help release some cash.  Purchases of expensive jewelry, clothes and shoes can be reduced or kept to a minimum.  For example, try taking food to work from home instead of buying lunch daily.  Eating cooked meals at home rather than eating out nyamachoma or buying take out daily helps reduce the expense side of the budget. 

6.  Identify necessities.  Avoid budgeting for and purchasing items that can be done without.  For example, sodas can be substituted with regular purified tap water as a healthy and less expensive alternative. 

7.  List items for shopping.  Create a list of items needed to go shopping and try as much as possible to stick to it.  Establish a regular shopping routine to avoid unplanned and expensive shopping sprees.

8.  Bargain.  Buying items at a bargained price can help save a lot of funds such as when there is a possibility of being overcharged.  One of the key tips to successful bargaining is to state your original price lower than what you are able to pay so that when you finally reach a deal, it will be within your price.

9.  Avoid peer pressure.  This can be accomplished by focusing on personal financial goals to eliminate unexpected expenditures.  Having financial goals helps give a bigger picture of the future and therefore eliminates the need to do as others are doing which is likely to go against ones financial goals.

10.  Increase in salary. This could boost up savings if the additional income received is put away immediately into a separate savings account to avoid spending it.  In order to enjoy the salary raise, use it to fund a financial goal that was still pending by saving the increased amount on a monthly basis.

11.  Additional income.  Generation of extra income through hobbies and other business projects can add up a significant amount of income.  Take time to research available and affordable options.

12.  Saving coins and smaller notes.  A routine of spending large notes or bills only can help ensure that every coin or small note stays in the wallet/purse until moved into a designated place for savings.  This could be a regular container or a special piggy bank and then when it is full it can be taken to the bank and get deposited into a savings account so that it can continue to accumulate.

13.  Plan ahead.  Planning to save for specific financial goals will help reduce significant shifts in the savings pattern when there is a major purchase in the future and therefore reduce the need for a large sum of money to come from the budget to finance the major purchase.

14.  Multiple accounts.  Maintaining multiple savings or fixed deposit accounts can help match these accounts with specific financial goals to facilitate the accomplishment of goals when funds are used for the designated purpose.

15.  Share with others.  Giving/donating to others is as important as spending it on your self.  The difference however is the fact that donations can bring a smile to an additional person’s life.  In addition to giving to family members and friends, for gifts/donations can be given to officially established centers or institutions with specific known projects.

16.  Vacation.  After long hours at work for a whole year everyone deserves vacation.  Planning and saving for vacations ahead of time may make it easier to enjoy the vacation somewhere other than at home without major financial constraints.

17.  Save it!  Collect all the income that was accumulated from the steps above and put it into a savings account before it gets spent on other things.  Once you manage to save some extra cash it is important to save that money into a designated account so as to realize the financial goals that you had planned for.